Man Admits Attacking 2 Girls

A man charged with stabbing two girls in a trailer while their parents were out gambling entered a surprise guilty plea Friday.

Beau Maestas, 21, pleaded guilty to burglary, attempted murder and murder in the January 2003 attack. Prosecutors agreed to drop a fourth charge of conspiracy.

A hearing was scheduled for Tuesday. A jury will be chosen to decide whether Maestas will be sentenced to death.

“By entering into this agreement, Beau accepts responsibility for his actions,” his lawyer, Pete Christiansen, said outside court.

Maestas had been scheduled for trial Tuesday with his 19-year-old sister, Monique. Because of Maestas’ guilty plea, his sister’s trial was delayed. A new date was not scheduled.

Brittney Bergeron, who was 10 at the time, and her 3-year-old sister, Kristyanna Cowan, were attacked inside their family’s trailer at the RV Park in Mesquite, a small gambling town about 75 miles northeast of Las Vegas.

Kristyanna was killed. Brittney, stabbed 20 times, was left paralyzed from the waist down.

The Maestas siblings, originally from the Salt Lake City area, allegedly attacked the girls in retaliation for being ripped off in a drug deal with the girls’ mother, Tamara Bergeron Schmidt, and her husband, Robert Schmidt.

On Thursday, the CasaBlanca hotel-casino, which owned the trailer park, agreed to a $5.5-million settlement in a lawsuit filed on behalf of Brittney. The lawsuit accused the resort of negligence for not providing adequate security at the RV park, among other claims.

Brittney has been living in foster care; the state is seeking to terminate her mother’s parental rights. Her father, who lives in California, has not contested the state’s petition.

The Schmidts are facing criminal charges of child abuse and neglect. Both have pleaded not guilty. Their trial is scheduled for July.